T
he Element House does
not have a front door.
Constructed through
an aggregation of
prefabricated modules,
the building can be
accessed from all sides.
A decentralized field of
solar chimney clerestories
perforates the interior
to provide indirect, natural light and
consistent ventilation. The building’s
aluminium shingle skin acts as a heat
sink, floating above a small airspace
in order to redirect heat away from
the interior, reducing the need for airconditioning. Made up of structural
insulated panels (SIPS), the Element
House is designed according to Passivehaus standards and operates
independently of public utilities by
integrating passive systems and on-site
energy generation.
The drawings and models of Element
House are included in the permanent
collection of the Museum of Modern
Art, and the project was recently
awarded the 2015 Award of Merit from
the New York State AIA. AD
LOCATION:
Star Axis, New Mexico
ARCHITECTS:
MOS Architects
PHOTOGRAPHS:
Florian Holzherr
DESIGN TEAM:
Michael Meredith, Hilary
Sample, Ashley Bigham,
Jason Bond, Ryan Culligan,
Gideon Danilowitz,
Michael Faciejew, Steven
Gertner, Jason Kim, Kera
Lagios, Ryan Ludwig,
Gabrielle Mar-coux,
Meredith McDaniel, Elijah
Porter, Michael Smith,
Mathew Staudt, Marrikka
Trotter
Share your thoughts